PS If you remember watching, in the last edition, a few snippets from the Open Day at Caen Hill on the Kennet & Avon Canal, well ITV published its own wonderful report. Well worth a watch!
Working for boaters
As we edge towards the longer and warmer days of spring, work continues around the network on our winter stoppage programme. While there are still a couple of weeks left before the official end date of the programme, it’s worth reflecting on the mammoth amount of work already completed or underway.
330 tonnes of oak
The figure above is roughly the combined weight of the 133 lock gates we’re installing this winter. Every kilogram of which has been hand crafted in one of our workshops to precise, and unique, measurements for each individual lock.
Of course, they’re not all in situ just yet but the stats of our winter stoppage programme progress are still impressive:
66 stoppages were planned before Christmas
62 were completed and four were deferred
84 stoppages after Christmas – of which 22 are already completed (as of 20 Feb)
80 are scheduled for delivery
Four have been deferred
The storms pre- and post-Christmas have had a significant impact, with flood levels and poor weather, causing several changes to start and finish dates (see below article which perfectly illustrates the challenges faced)
The statistics above hide the range and complexity of works. They include projects such as third-party-funded towpath works, embankment repairs, washwall rebuilds, lock grouting, brickwork maintenance, vegetation control, bridge repairs and, of course, the 133 lock gates being replaced.
Hatton Lock 40 Grand Union Canal
The impact of Ashley, Bert, Conall and Darragh
While the names titling this section may not be immediately recognisable, they were in fact four storms spread across the last three months of 2024.
These storms had a significant impact at Ratcliffe Lock on the River Soar where extremely high water levels caused a delay in completing the works and the subsequent start of the works at Whetstone Lock.
The team on site worked hard to manage these delays but, unfortunately, had to accept that there was not enough time to complete all the works to the bottom gate before the end of the year, especially as the concrete securing the cill needed time to cure.
At the start of the year an iced over canal – they were moving equipment by boat – prevented the team from getting to their new work site at Lock 13, Long Buckby Wharf, in Daventry so they busied themselves on other work until the thaw came.
The works at Lock 13 are extensive, involving not just the replacement of the top and bottom lock gates, but also the lock ladder extensions and brickwork repairs to the lock chamber walls. Despite continued efforts including bringing in additional people to support the brickwork repairs and ladder replacements, the team haven’t been able to recover the delays in starting the works.
Recognising that the national winter stoppage programme ends on 14 March 2025, the team has extended the stoppage end date at Buckby to try and get as much of the planned work completed as possible. We apologise for having to extend this closure by an additional week. The new reopening date is 14 March 2025.
Overtopping lock on Oxford Canal Storm Bert Nov 2024
£3 million upgrade to Rishton Reservoir
Nestled just outside Blackburn in East Lancashire, Rishton Reservoir, which provides a vital supply of water to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, will shortly undergo a £3m upgrade to ensure it remains resilient to climate change and continues to meet safety standards.
Built around 1829, by canal company engineer James Fletcher, the works, which will start in early March, are due to be completed by the end of the year.
The project will involve essential maintenance to strengthen the reservoir and an increase in the capacity of the spillway to enable it to hold more water run-off in storm events. New access bridges will be installed as well as a new and improved access track to the site.
During the construction phase the water levels in the reservoir will be reduced to facilitate the work.
Jon Horsfall, North West director, said: “Rishton Reservoir, like much or our historic network, needs ongoing maintenance and upgrading to meet present day standards. The £3m works are necessary to ensure the reservoir can be used for many years to come, supplying the Leeds & Liverpool Canal with water so it can continue to be a vital route for boaters and habitat for nature as well as safeguarding the local communities.”
A significant programme of investment in these reservoirs is underway to make sure they stay resilient to climate change and comply with the strict legislation that applies to all large reservoirs.
Rishton Reservoir
Lady of the Ring – an inspiring trip on the Four Counties
Love Travelling blogger, Marion, is starting to catch the bug that many of you have – a passion for boating! If you’ve not yet cruised the Four Counties ring, below you’ll find an excerpt from Marion’s cruise which may just inspire you to start planning your own.
Before we begin though, a few facts about the ring might be helpful – it’s 110 miles long with 94 locks and involves three waterways; the Shropshire Union, Staffordshire & Worcestershire and Trent & Mersey canals. Take it away Marion:
‘Day 1: We’d arranged our trip with Drifters Boating Holidays from their Black Prince base at Festival Place, Stoke-on-Trent. The boatyard has secure parking and if, like us, a member of your crew is arriving separately, there’s no charge to park an additional car. On popping into the office, we received a warm welcome from Rachel who let us know that Ellie, our canal boat was ready and waiting for us so we temporarily moved the car over to the canal bank to load our supplies and belongings.
‘With everything on board it was then time for Gavin from Black Prince to step on board to guide us through the handover procedure. As experienced boaters it wasn’t necessary to provide tuition in steering or to escort us through our first lock but as all narrowboats differ slightly, it was useful to learn about the workings of the engine, controls for the heating and lighting etc.
‘Our boat was like a floating holiday cottage with the added benefit of waking up to a different view on opening the curtains each morning. Home for the next two weeks was to be a 62ft Princess Class narrowboat. Within an hour of arriving at the boatyard we were ready to set off on our adventure and as we’d indicated that we would be travelling the ring in an anti-clockwise direction, the boat was already facing the right way.
‘Slipping out of our moorings we headed north along the Trent & Mersey feeling happy to be afloat once more. We arrived at Westport Lake, our planned overnight mooring shortly after 4pm, breaking us in gently for longer boating days ahead. After securing the boat we stretched our legs with a stroll around the lake and nature reserve which is free to visit.
Approaching Harecastle Tunnel South Entrance courtesy of Love Travelling
‘Day 2: There had been heavy overnight rain but fortunately it had eased by the time we were ready to leave our moorings at 8.40am. It was just a 20-minute journey to the entrance to the Harecastle Tunnel which we needed to pass through to continue our journey into Cheshire. The tunnel was completed in 1827 and is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) in length connecting Tunstall with Kidsgrove.
‘The tunnel is only wide enough to carry boat traffic through in one direction at a time with boats sent through in groups alternating north and south. Please note that during the mornings you can just turn up but from 1pm pre-booking is required. Before entering we needed to moor along the bank and attend a safety briefing with a member of the Tunnel Keeper’s team. It was explained that we needed to test our boat horn, navigation lights and to ensure that all our curtains and blinds were open and the lights turned on.
‘Often boaters need to wait awhile to enter the tunnel if boat traffic is set in the opposite direction but by chance we were very fortunate and able to enter within a few minutes and as no boats were ahead or behind us we enjoyed the best experience.
‘It was pitch black and very cold so I would suggest wearing warm coats whatever the temperature outside. It’s certainly an experience like no other with dripping water and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. In some places my husband and son needed to bend their heads – at times like this it’s an advantage being small!
‘After almost 40 minutes we saw light at the end of the tunnel and navigated our way back out into the daylight. The colour of the water at both ends of the tunnel resembles tomato soup. This unusual shade is blamed on seepage of iron ore from the first Harecastle Tunnel engineered by James Brindley in 1777, which was abandoned due to subsidence in 1914.
‘The parallel tunnel that’s still in operation was constructed by Thomas Telford, the other leading engineer of the time. After the excitement of the tunnel, we moored close to the lock in Kidsgrove for a coffee break before embarking on an energetic day beginning our descent of the Cheshire Locks which are also known as Heartbreak Hill.’
While we’re on the topic of Harecastle Tunnel, check out the video below which was taken late last year as we carried out an inspection:
Working for boaters – in numbers
With over 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, a list of all the things we’ve been doing over the last fortnight to keep navigations open would be unfeasibly long to collate, but a scan of our stoppage notifications shows that we’ve…
Description
In the last fortnight
Since we started reporting (12 July 2024)
Carried out lock repairs (repairing quoins and brickwork) & gate replacements
11
51
Conducted/facilitated bridge inspections
9
197
Repaired bridges
6
72
Repaired Elsans
4
28
Removed wind-blown trees that were impeding navigation
2
181
Fixed lock paddles
2
35
Fixed customer service facilities (such as toilets)
2
29
Carried out Dredging project
2
18
Bathymetric survey (a water-based survey that maps the depths and shapes of underwater terrain)
2
9
Fixed (or in the process of fixing) embankments
1
37
Repaired sluices
1
17
Removed sunken boats
1
5
Carried out boater safety activities (such as placing buoys around hazards etc.)
1
22
Repaired culverts
1
15
Carried out dive survey/repair
1
26
The above list doesn’t include any work conducted purely on towpaths, water management (which there’s always a lot of!), major reservoir projects and so on – it’s just a flavour of what we’ve been doing to help boaters keep moving on the cut!
'Dragonfly' trip boat
What’s in a name?
As you’ve been cruising down the cut I bet you do what we all do. Gongoozle (the origin of which, according to the Cotswold Canals Trust, comes from LTC Rolt's book ‘Narrow Boat’ and is believed to be the derivation of two Lincolnshire dialect words gawn and gooze meaning to stare).
In any case, you’ve likely noticed boat names as part of this and wondered which is the most common. If not, you’re about to find out anyway!
KINGFISHER
WILLOW
SERENITY
DRAGONFLY
PHOENIX
SERENDIPITY
NARROW ESCAPE
MERLIN
SAPPHIRE
POPPY
Of course, according to maritime tradition, it is considered bad luck to simply change a boat's name without performing a renaming ceremony, as it is believed to upset the sea gods who keep track of vessels by their names. This may mean that you simply left the name unchanged when you became skipper. If that’s the case why not take our short quiz to find what name would suit you best:
Now that you’ve figured out the ideal name for your boat you may want to personalise it even further. Here are some simple rules to follow for boat naming on our network:
Please no more than 40 characters in total (and just think of the cost for signwriting!)
Use capital letters
Do not use any special characters
Avoid using apostrophes or commas if at all possible, they are very easy to miss when our rangers search for boat names
Do not use anything that could be construed as being rude or offensive
Try and find something unique. Having a unique name is, of course, fun, but it also helps your boat get spotted by our rangers and not mixed up with others.
If you named your boat we’d love to hear the story behind why you picked that particular name. Please drop me a line to tell me and, ideally, a snapshot of your boat’s name proudly emblazoned on her side.
Finally, always display your boat name and boat index number on both sides of your boat. You can get it painted on, use vinyl stick on, or even have laminated card or paper displayed inside the windows if they are large enough. As well as being a legal requirement under the General Canal Bye Laws 5(1) that the index number is clearly displayed on both sides of your boat (front and rear is not acceptable) it is also a condition of your boat licence. Please refer to condition 10.1 and 10.2 of the General Terms and Conditions for Boat Licences which apply to your licence.
While some of our team members may recognise your boat without its index number, anyone working on the towpath may need to be able to identify your boat. It is also important that you display your index number and boat name for insurance purposes in the event of an incident, and for identification purposes in an emergency situation.
By order of the Peaky Blinders
Calling all owners of boats with catering/bar/social space, the illustrious Steven Knight CBE himself, creator of Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes and a host of other blockbusters, has sought our help to source a boat or two for long-term rent to be used as catering/social spaces outside his bustling Digbeth Loc. Studio in Birmingham.
Please send any expressions of interest, to include boat size, on-board facilities (e.g. catering, bar, seating etc) and internal/external images to [email protected] by 14th March.
Lock gate being lowered at Engine Lock
Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend
As you’ll know there are times when we need to fix things that unexpectedly break. Of course, you’ll notice that the list below is much longer now that we’re in the winter stoppage season! So, below, you’ll find a list of navigations that have ongoing restrictions that may affect you if you’re planning to get out on the water this weekend:
When restrictions to navigation happen, we get them up on to our website as soon as we can – always best to have a scan before you set off. You can find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone in this article.
If you have any questions about a specific closure, or spot an error in our system, please get in touch.
Talk to us
Periodically, all around the country, we throw open our doors (sometimes digitally) and welcome those who use our fabulous network to join us. These forums give us the opportunity to hear about the things that are important to you as well share our plans for the future.
Commission reviewing boat licensing asks for views
As you may have read in the last edition, we’ve asked a Commission to review our boat licensing framework. It is anticipated that the Commission will make recommendations to our Board of Trustees in September 2025.
As part of the process the Commission will want to hear the views of boaters and other stakeholders with a view on boat licensing.
The Commission is inviting, from next Monday 3 March, individuals and organisations to complete a survey covering both the issues that they are experiencing and any changes people would like to see to our approach to boat licensing.
The survey can be completed anonymously.
The survey will run from Monday 3 March until 9am on Tuesday 22 April. A link to the survey will be posted on our websitenext week and included in subsequent editions of Boaters’ Update.
And finally…
Don’t forget the new legal requirements for waste separation that are coming to all of our refuse sites in England as a result of the government’s new Simpler Recycling legislation. More information can be found on our Rubbish and recycling | Boating services pages.
Last Edited: 28 February 2025
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